Anyone here speak Gaelic?

Probably about 15 years back, I was interested in learning Gaelic because of my Irish background but I didn't realize that there was a difference between Irish Gaelic (Gaeilge or just "Irish") and Scottish Gaelic until I had spent a few hefty bucks on some Scottish lessons. I learned a little, had fun with it but never went after it really hardcore.

So recently I realized the need for learning Spanish and I turned to Rosetta Stone. I was poking around their site and it turns out, they just began offering a program for learning Irish. I just ordered the Latin American Spanish program so I'm going to hold off on pulling the trigger on the Irish lessons. Either way, I thought it was pretty cool that Rosetta Stone now offers Irish!

[Buena Fortuna]

Originally Posted by BillyCigars

Probably about 15 years back, I was interested in learning Gaelic because of my Irish background but I didn't realize that there was a difference between Irish Gaelic (Gaeilge or just "Irish") and Scottish Gaelic until I had spent a few hefty bucks on some Scottish lessons. I learned a little, had fun with it but never went after it really hardcore.

So recently I realized the need for learning Spanish and I turned to Rosetta Stone. I was poking around their site and it turns out, they just began offering a program for learning Irish. I just ordered the Latin American Spanish program so I'm going to hold off on pulling the trigger on the Irish lessons. Either way, I thought it was pretty cool that Rosetta Stone now offers Irish!

I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on Rosetta Stone and how effective you feel the program is once you get into it for awhile. I've been thinking about getting the Spanish but don't want to buy the hype. I want to hear the pros/cons from someone who has used it, not commercial marketing.

I'm with you - actually the only reason I went with Rosetta Stone was because of a family friend who used it and felt very comfortable with the material. I should have my copy here towards the end of next week so I'll be sure to let you know my thoughts

As for the Irish, I'll be interested to see how it's presented. Due to the differences in Irish dialects (and they are indeed quite different), it would seem fairly difficult.

MithShrike, which dialect are the cassettes/mp3s in? Munster, Ulster, Connacht, etc... As an aside, I know there are some really great resources (free) on the net that I've run across that I would imagine could be a great help to you. One of which was a news broadcast where everything was spoken in Irish. I always thought that would be a great way to train your ear.

Originally Posted by BillyCigars

MithShrike, which dialect are the cassettes/mp3s in? Munster, Ulster, Connacht, etc... As an aside, I know there are some really great resources (free) on the net that I've run across that I would imagine could be a great help to you. One of which was a news broadcast where everything was spoken in Irish. I always thought that would be a great way to train your ear.

The cassettes/mp3s are dialect non-specific. They mention the dialects though in case one is traveling.

As to the Rosetta Stone... I'm not a fan. I think the linguistic theory behind it is flawed for teaching adults. For teaching children it's great. I think for adults though the best is what is called 'leveraged' learning. So programs like Michel Thomas or Fluenz would be a better choice IMO.